Chapter 18: with translation of chapter title

"Line up, take your identity tokens, and pay attention to the various matters listed on them!" the recruitment officer of Cloud Sea City commanded the loose cultivators to board the ship.

This recruitment is different from before; they even sent two squads and a large fish-shaped ship.

"Goodness, is this the Kun fish vessel? A fifth-grade treasure?" a cultivator sighed, he could never earn a fifth-grade treasure in his lifetime.

"That's right, I saw it back then; it's incredibly fast—even a Golden Core cultivator pushing their escape technique to the limit would only manage this. Seeing such a thing in this backwater place once is considered great virtue." His tone was full of superiority toward these loose cultivators.

"What's it to you? If you're so capable, buy one yourself!" someone, annoyed by his attitude, jeered.

"Who said that? Step forward!" the man flared up, his face red as if slapped.

"Me? What are you gonna do about it?" the speaker said indifferently.

The two came to blows, and the loose cultivators watching the commotion all started shouting.

Then, in the next second, the two fighters were immobilized by the cultivators of Cloud Sea City.

"Hang them up there! Let them sober up!" the officer told the nearby war cultivator.

Yes.

The commotion in the crowd instantly died down; everyone obediently fell into line, as if the earlier uproar had nothing to do with them.

Big.

Fufeng glanced at Xiao Yi, who was about to speak.

He immediately changed his words, "Junior brother, are you really going?"

"Mm." Fufeng replied and then ignored him.

Xiao Yi had thought about it all night but still couldn't figure it out; when he had fled with Fufeng before, he could clearly see that panicked, flustered look—it didn't seem like an act—yet now they were going back, could something unknown have happened?

At that moment he suddenly saw the Qi brothers, who were also in line.

Xiao Yi's heart leapt; could they have planned this together?

He tapped Fufeng with his hand, then signaled with his eyes.

When Fufeng turned his head, he also saw the Qi brothers—no coincidence, he had been sensing that demonic qi for a while.

It wasn't until noon that all these loose cultivators finally boarded. Mainly, because of the war, even those who hadn't planned to respond joined in; fortunately, Cloud Sea City had anticipated this, so they didn't have to make two trips.

As for refusing, what a joke—they're recruiting precisely because they're short-handed.

Everyone packed onto the ship, and the bloated Kun fish vessel suddenly underwent a change.

Its originally bulky body became streamlined, the fish head turned into a bird's shape, the scales on its body stretched out and turned into feathers, and two illusory wings sprouted.

Peng form!

The illusory wings flicked, and the Kun fish vessel vanished from the spot in an instant.

"Good heavens, that fast!" a cultivator exclaimed.

The other loose cultivators looked back and realized they could no longer see Azure Cloud Island; the ship's speed exceeded their expectations.

The cultivator in charge of steering chuckled, "We've only just begun," and the technique he was executing with his hands instantly gained more force.

"Hmph!" a few snorts echoed from the cabin, and several loose cultivators' faces turned ashen.

Only after the second acceleration did the Kun fish vessel reveal its true speed; the gale stirred up during flight tore apart the divine senses of those who probed outside the ship.

This served as a warning to those loose cultivators: during flight, releasing divine sense outward is prohibited, as written on the identity tokens; if they don't obey, they bear the consequences themselves.

The cultivator in charge of recruitment sat at the stern, eyes closed, meditating, while his outward divine sense observed these loose cultivators.

The loose cultivators didn't dare act out, but after a while they couldn't hold back, whispering in twos and threes.

Probably only Fufeng remained sufficiently calm; he'd experienced this sort of thing many times before—back when he rode crowded trains, he'd seen it all.

At this moment he was admiring the scenery of the Cloud Immortal Realm.

Blue sky, white clouds, blue sky and white clouds!

Fufeng withdrew his gaze; it was simply too boring.

This is the impoverished state of the Cloud Immortal Realm: aside from Cloud Sea, which can produce heavenly treasures thanks to its abundant spiritual energy and cloud qi, everywhere else is just pure, empty blue sky—so pure it drives one mad.

This situation didn't last long; the outline of the Northern Cloud Sea appeared ahead.

The Kun fish vessel's speed wasn't just talk, yet it still flew for over an hour before truly reaching the cloud sea.

The cloud sea that blotted out the sky and covered the earth produced an unparalleled impact, especially as one felt themselves drawing nearer step by step, finally merging into it.

Fufeng felt his very soul shaken.

Even more shocking was yet to come: the Kun fish vessel plunged headfirst into the cloud sea, and when it reappeared it had already switched to its Kun fish form; the loose cultivators aboard were startled and about to curse.

Thinking that he was still wearing his clothes, he could only give up.

Afterward, the Kun fish vessel swam like a real fish through the clouds, winding around until it reached the site where cloud ore was mined.

Compared to the cloud ore on Azure Cloud Island, this right here is a true mine—hundreds of zhang high, with no visible edge.

No wonder, given how small Azure Cloud Island is, the amount of cloud qi gathered there is already huge; moreover, this place bears one‑quarter of the Cloud Immortal Realm's cloud‑qi source.

Thinking of this, Fufeng felt confident; once these ores were mined, his base would surely be completed.

The mine was divided into sixty regions, each region further split into four sub‑areas; Fufeng and Xiao Yi were assigned to the Jiazi Yuan sub‑area.

The Yuan sub‑area currently has eighty‑seven people, more than half of whom are newly recruited loose cultivators; the manager is an old cultivator who has worked here year‑round, appearing to be at Foundation Establishment.

Each was issued a set of tools and then sent to work; the rule is simple: no matter where you labor, as long as you turn in the fixed amount of cloud qi on time, you're fine—otherwise you'll be restricted from making a living in the Northern Cloud Sea.

Some rushed to finish the task, starting to mine cloud qi as soon as they landed; others didn't care, figuring there was plenty of time, and decided to first assess the situation.

The place is vast; tossing eighty‑plus people in makes them disappear, and Fufeng casually picked a cliff face to dig into.

Here the cloud qi density is much greater; a single strike of the pick doesn't loosen it—after a dozen or so blows, a big puff of cloud qi finally bursts out with a boom.

At that moment the Cloud‑Gathering Banner beside him emitted spiritual light, gathering the scattered cloud qi inside.

Fufeng, however, wasn't moving; he stared at the hole he'd dug, stunned.

Inside the hole lay a piece of something fish‑scale‑like.

【Fish Scale Iron, second‑grade spiritual material】

The investigation's feedback told him that this counted as a shipment. He didn't overreact, either—first, such spiritual materials are common in the mine, and second, second-grade items simply don't sell for much.

But he was still pleased; this showed his cloud‑qi was not bad.

Then Xiao Yi at his side shouted at him.

"Junior brother, look quickly!" Xiao Yi's excited voice rang out.

A green plant appeared before Fu Feng's eyes, its crystal‑clear, translucent leaves making one want to take a bite.

【Azure Cloud Branch, third grade】

Fu Feng: …….